For this year’s board of directors' elections, we will be running a member election between September 24 to October 8, 2026. Ballots and information will be emailed to eligible voters. The results will be announced at the Division AGM on Oct. 15, 2026.
The following are the six members who will be running for a two-year Actively Practicing board member position, along with their candidate statements. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order, by last name.
--------------
Dr. Panagiotis (Taki) Galanopoulos (practicing in PCN 3 - Northeast)
Advocating for patients and community has shaped my whole career. I have served the Vancouver Division on the PCN Steering Committee and the Seniors and Frail Elder Committee, as physician lead for the Team-Based Care Educational Series, and as a Board Director since 2022, currently as Vice Chair. These roles have shown me how Division decisions land in actual practices.
I have practised family medicine for 15 years in Canada and the United States, across rural and urban settings. I own and lead Blue Water Medical, a multi-provider clinic in East Vancouver where physicians and nurse practitioners provide longitudinal care. I am also Community Medical Director for three assisted living facilities, and I teach residents and other learners through UBC, UVic and other institutions. Earlier I served as Chief Medical Officer of a federally qualified health centre in Kentucky, caring for underserved communities in an integrated primary care and mental health model.
My governance experience spans healthcare boards, clinical operations and medical education, including more than a decade in executive roles on my medical school's Alumni Board and committee work with Doctors of BC. I bring the perspective of a frontline physician and clinic owner: good policy has to work in the exam room, at the front desk, and for the patient trying to get an appointment.
My three priorities:
- Preparing for the demographic pressure already in our exam rooms. Our panels are changing at both ends. More patients are aging with frailty, multimorbidity and dementia, needing home and facility-based care with little structural support for the physicians providing it. Meanwhile, more children are seeking assessment for autism, ADHD and mental health concerns, waiting years while their family doctor carries the forms, the school advocacy and the interim care. The next phase of PCN development should follow these pressures, in team composition, in referral pathways, and in how we support the physicians carrying this work.
- Preserving community practice. Independent clinics are healthcare infrastructure. Rising overhead and staffing costs threaten attachment in Vancouver. The Division should document and cost that reality so it can be negotiated honestly with system partners.
- Technology introduced on physicians' terms. AI documentation tools and EMR changes are arriving quickly, largely shaped by vendors. The Division should give members independent evaluation, consent and privacy guidance so these tools reduce burden rather than create risk.
Equity in primary care is practical. It means interpretation and translated materials, panels that include unattached and marginalized patients, and Division leadership that reflects the communities our members serve, including more internationally trained physicians. I came through that route myself, and licensure was the straightforward part; building a practice here was not. I would be honoured to continue serving.
Dr. Taha Khan (practicing in PCN 1 - City Centre)
A $10 million organization. Whose constitution says its purpose is to “support family physicians”. Do you feel you’re getting $10M worth of support? Most of us can’t name a single board member and don’t know how to shape Division policy. The strategic report says the Division needs to “stay the course” as this is “not a time for new strategic directions”. Were you even consulted?
Who am I? I’m a family medicine physician in Downtown Vancouver. I sit on the Division’s PCN 1 Steering Committee. I know what the Division does well and how it needs to improve.
What’s my background? I served as an executive officer of the British Medical Association, the UK doctors’ trade union. I sat on the body that negotiated the national family medicine contract with government. I led grassroots engagement, ran social media campaigns, and sat with health ministers so I know how they think.
Why this matters here? I have been on this ride before. UK governments funded a rapid expansion of non-physicians in primary care. The subsequent national evaluation found that clinics employing more non-physicians to perform the roles typically done by physicians had lower patient satisfaction, higher emergency department attendance, higher physician workload, and no cost saving. Vancouver deserves to learn from these mistakes, not repeat them.
BC already has the most family physicians per capita in Canada. Meanwhile, small clinics are struggling: remuneration has not kept pace with inflation while commercial rents, staff wages and running costs climb. We are being outcompeted by investor-owned clinics that are aggressively expanding using their centralised structures and economies of scale. As ownership drifts from the physicians who know their patients best, autonomy, respect and pay follow.
My priorities? First, visible accountability. You need to be able to contact the board member for your area directly. When you raise a concern or idea, it should reach an agenda, be discussed, and come back to you with an outcome. Second, the recruitment of non-physicians in primary care needs to be evidence-based, shaped by local physicians. Third, clinic ownership needs to remain viable for physicians who actually review patients in it, not investors who don’t.
JEDI? We are expected to articulate how our “experiences and values will contribute to advancing the Division’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion”. Presently, JEDI has no allocated funding, no targets, and no evaluation of whether it has improved patient outcomes. With nothing to hit, the Division cannot miss. I will push for SMART goals, honest measurement and transparent reporting.
Dr. Poornima Senra (practicing in PCN 6 - South)
I am putting my name forward for the Vancouver Division Board because, after more than 15 years in community family practice in South Vancouver, I would like to contribute more directly to the decisions that shape how we practice and whether the next generation chooses to join us.
I am the Medical Director of a longitudinal family practice caring for a diverse population across the lifespan, including newcomers, seniors, young families, and patients facing medical, social and economic barriers. My clinical work includes women’s health, mental health, addiction medicine, chronic disease, and preventive care. I have built a team-based practice that integrates nursing and pharmacy support into everyday care, so I know first-hand both the value of these resources and the practical challenges of making them work well in a busy clinic.
My division involvement has given me a view of primary care beyond my own practice. I currently serve on a PCN Steering Committee and the PCN RN Working Group and lead a Peer Case Group for family physicians. I previously participated in the Cervix Self-Screening Working Group. These experiences have taught me that good ideas succeed only when they make sense in the realities of community practice.
As Clinical Faculty with UBC Family Practice, I teach and mentor medical students and residents. As a clinic Medical Director, I lead a multidisciplinary team and am continually looking at ways to improve how we deliver care and work together as a team. I also completed the FPSC Leadership and Management Development Program. Through these roles, I have learned to listen to different perspectives, work toward consensus, ask difficult questions when needed, and stay focused on practical outcomes.
My three priorities are sustaining longitudinal family practice, reducing physician and practice burden, and physician wellness and engagement. We need to retain experienced family physicians and make longitudinal practice a career new physicians want to choose. This means strengthening Patient Medical Homes, making team-based care work well, reducing unnecessary administrative work, and using technology and available resources in ways that genuinely make day-to-day practice easier. Physician wellness is closely tied to sustainability, and we need strong peer connections and meaningful opportunities for physicians across different career stages and practice models to have a voice in changes affecting their work.
Caring for patients from many cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds has taught me the importance of listening, cultural humility, and recognizing barriers that are not always visible. I would bring that perspective to the Board while keeping the interests of the broader membership in mind.
I would be proud to bring my experience as a practicing family physician, clinic leader, educator, and active Division member to the Board.
Dr. Nicholas Steinberg (practicing in PCN 4 - Westside)
Thanks for considering me for re-election. I have met many of you in my capacities on the Board of the Vancouver Division, as a teacher, as a consultant for minor procedures, as a long-term care locum, and generally by rubbing elbows with my fellow family doctors. Nothing in my work brings me more pleasure than trying to improve the environment of family medicine in Vancouver.
I am in my fourth year of practice, and my bread and butter is fast-paced comprehensive family medicine in a large clinic. I understand the needs of the harried family doctor, the unsung hero of medicine. As well as being on the board of the Division, I am a consumer of its services, such as educational sessions, physician events, and (for my patients) zero-cost access to allied health services through the Primary Care Network (PCN) Interprofessional Teams (IPT). I know from both sides of the table what doctors and their patients need and I will work for you to improve family medicine.
As an incumbent board member, I am the convener of the steering committee for Primary Care Network (PCN) 2 and am working on bringing meaningful initiatives and an efficient service plan to the PCN. Other past experience includes being co-chief resident, a residency program surveyor, and a board member for Resident Doctors of Saskatchewan. Being on the Board requires conscientiousness and teamwork, and my current position on the Board and the PCN 2 Steering Committee means I can start working for you immediately with no lead time.
Vancouver is the largest Division in the province. The size of Vancouver comes with opportunities, such as access to niche subspecialist care, but comes at the cost of community. One of my priorities is to develop Vancouver’s family doctor community with events and online engagement. A strong community supports our work, be it clinical, academic, or administrative.
Second, those of us who have used the PCN IPT have seen how it can benefit patients and our practice to have allied health professionals available to patients who can’t afford them. One of my priorities is to keep improving access to the PCN IPT to help my fellow family doctors and their patients.
Last, we are living in a time of rapid technological development. Some doctors choose to use AI to assist them with documentation, clinical decision making, or administrative support, and it seems like its capabilities are expanding by the day. My last priority is to support doctors and administrative staff who choose to use advanced technology to enhance their practice.
The greatest joy and the greatest challenge in my career is improving family medicine for doctors and patients. I would be honoured to continue this work.
Dr. Winnie Su (practicing in PCN 4 - Westside)
I am honoured to be nominated to join the VDoFP Board of Directors. I am passionate about Family Medicine and want to support family physicians in the critical work we do, recognizing that we are all patients in need of family physicians who care for us as well. I have been an active VDoFP member since its inception, participating in many division-supported events as well as teaching at various CPD/CME activities over the years. Since 2020, I have also been a member of the Steering Committee for PCN4.
As a full-service family physician (and clinic co-owner) to over 2500 patients in Kitsilano for over 23 years, I feel privileged to reap the joys of family practice beyond the medicine. I practiced high-volume FP-obstetrics and cared for many multi-generation families.
Teaching and mentorship of medical learners and younger colleagues have always been my passion. After 20 years of teaching residents and medical students, I recently started the position of Family Medicine Director for Years 1 and 2 (for UBC VFMP) as well as Site Assessment lead for the Vancouver FP Residency Program. The future of family medicine is dependent on the teaching and the mentorship of future physicians.
With support from the FPSC, I recently completed the Leadership and Management Development Program (through SFU Beedie) which has given me more confidence in serving in a governance capacity. My top priority in any position is relationship-building with those I work with and with those I serve and creating a culture of compassion and humility to achieve justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
I am impressed by what the VDoFP has already achieved over the many years, but we all recognize ongoing challenges. Many FPs still lament that they cannot coverage when they are away. Many want to teach but their capacity is limited by space or busyness. Many want to upskill (in procedures or unfamiliar topics) but are not sure where to turn. Still others are concerned about family medicine being devalued by the public or by other specialty areas. Then there is the never-ending administrative burdens.
My top 3 priorities for the Division are:
- With family medicine being the backbone of our healthcare system, it is vital that we all help train FPs. I would like to encourage and enable you to teach and mentor not only learners (students and residents) but also our peers who are new to our communities and new-to-practice physicians. We can build on initiatives that are already in place (peer engagement, mentoring programs). The Divisions can also support new FPs in their transition into longitudinal family practice in Vancouver to improve patient access and increase patient attachment.
- Reducing administrative burden would be a top priority as burnout from “paperwork” is still a reality we all experience. This can be improved in many ways – eg. supporting clinics in the adoption of EMR/platforms/features. Division may help more clinics secure skilled and reliable staff, which has been a great challenge for many practices.
- FPs need more robust coverage (locum, associate, maternity) thereby improving patient access to care. We need to ensure that “attachment” also means that patients can access care at their medical home.
I hope that my experience as a seasoned family physician, clinic owner, teacher, administrator, and leader will help me advance the Division's commitment to supporting all family doctors in Vancouver in "doing an impossible job, impossibly well"* for the sake of our patients and each other. Thank you for considering me for a position on the board this year.
*(Kolber, Michael, et al. "The value of family medicine", Can Fam Physician. 2023 Apr;69(4):269–270. doi: 10.46747/cfp.6904269)
Dr. Charles Webb (practicing in PCN 6 - South)
Dr. Charles D. Webb, MBChB, MCFP, DASA, ICD.D
After more than three decades as a full-service family physician in Vancouver, I believe our primary care system has reached a point where incremental adjustments are no longer enough.
I have practised continuously in the same Vancouver community clinic while serving in medical leadership and governance, including as President of Doctors of BC, a Director of the Canadian Medical Association, a member of the Medical Services Commission and Physician Services Committee, founding Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, and in leadership roles with the Vancouver Medical Association and UBC Clinical Faculty Association. I would bring to the Board experience in governance, negotiation, health policy, organizational leadership and frontline practice.
My three priorities are:
- Preserve community-practice infrastructure. Independent clinics attach patients, provide longitudinal care, employ staff, maintain records and technology, and coordinate care across the system. Yet they must fund this infrastructure from professional income while facing escalating costs for rent, staffing, insurance, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and administration. Overhead in established practices can approach 50%. The Division should document clinic closures and financial pressures, establish the true cost of practice infrastructure, identify practices at risk, and advocate for sustainable solutions.
- Strengthen PCNs, Patient Medical Homes and attachment. The Division should ensure that PCN development supports—not displaces—existing community practices, improves team-based care, and gives physicians practical help in attaching and caring for increasingly complex patients. Strong stakeholder collaboration and system influence are essential.
- Improve member support through better technology and less administrative burden. Integrated IT, practical member services, and smarter administrative processes should make it easier—not harder—for clinicians to provide care. The Division should remain a trusted primary-care expert while ensuring new initiatives are realistic at the clinic level.
These priorities must be advanced through a strong commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. That means listening to physicians across different practice models and communities, ensuring equitable access to supports and resources, and designing services that respond to the diverse needs of Vancouver’s patients and practitioners.
This is non-partisan health-system advocacy. Primary care infrastructure is healthcare infrastructure. Our task is to preserve what works, strengthen what is fragile, and ensure Vancouver patients continue to have access to sustainable, high-quality longitudinal care.
--------------
The following Resident member will be acclaimed for an one-year Resident board member position, along with their candidate statement:
Dr. Nilanga Aki Ediriweera Bandara
I am currently serving as the Resident Board Member for the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, which has given me a strong understanding of the Division’s role in supporting family physicians, residents, and the broader Vancouver community. During my time on the Board, I have focused on strengthening connections between the Division, residents, and future family physicians. I collaborated in developing a resident mentorship event that was very well attended and received excellent feedback. Many residents commented that it was a valuable opportunity to learn about the Vancouver Division, the supports available to physicians, and opportunities to practise in Vancouver. I also created a Doc to Doc article promoting family medicine practice opportunities within the Vancouver Division to residents and new graduates. These experiences reinforced the importance of building relationships early and ensuring new physicians feel welcomed, supported, and connected to their local physician community.
As a family medicine resident preparing to transition into independent practice, I bring a current trainee perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of family physicians. My clinical training has exposed me to diverse patient populations and the realities of providing comprehensive, longitudinal care within an increasingly complex healthcare system. I also bring leadership and governance experience from outside the Division, including serving as the UBC R2 Resident Board Member with the College of Family Physicians of Canada and participating in the National Teen Dating Violence Prevention Committee. These roles have strengthened my skills in collaboration, advocacy, communication, committee work, and representing the perspectives of trainees and emerging physicians.
If elected, I believe the Division’s three priorities should be mentorship and recruitment of new graduates, improving practice efficiency, and strengthening community work. Mentorship should remain a priority so residents and new graduates can transition successfully into practice, develop professional networks, and see Vancouver as a place where they can build sustainable careers. Improving practice efficiency is essential as physicians face increasing administrative demands and clinical complexity. The Division can support physicians by sharing practical resources, promoting innovative models of care, and helping physicians spend more time focused on patients. Finally, strengthening community work and partnerships is important because family physicians are uniquely positioned to understand and respond to the needs of the communities they serve.
My experiences and values align with the Division’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Working with diverse patients, learners, and physician groups has reinforced the importance of listening to different perspectives and ensuring that opportunities for mentorship, leadership, and participation are accessible to everyone. I would bring a collaborative, inclusive, and trainee-informed perspective to the Board, helping build a Division where physicians at every stage of their careers feel supported, connected, and empowered to provide excellent care to the Vancouver community.